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Workmen's Compensation (Accidents) Convention, 1925 (No. 17) - Gibraltar

Article 7 of the Convention. Additional compensation for persons in need of constant help. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, according to section 16 of the Social Security (Employment Injuries Insurance) Act No. 10 of 1952, the disablement pension to which victims of employment injury are entitled can be increased for those who needed constant attendance, but only for persons with an assessed disability of 100 per cent. On this basis, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on any form of supplementary assistance available to those with a permanent disability of less than 100 per cent who require the constant help of another person. The Committee notes the reply provided by the Government in its report, according to which the above-mentioned provision of the national legislation does not contravene Article 7 of the Convention. The Committee recalls that Article 7 of the Convention requires that all injured persons whose incapacity is of such nature that they need the constant help of another person be provided with additional compensation, irrespective of their degree of disability, and not only those with an assessed degree of disability of 100 per cent. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any measure ensuring that victims of employment injury with a disability of less than 100 per cent are provided with or compensated for the constant help of another person when they so require.

Article 9. Pharmaceutical aid. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in reply to its previous request concerning the provision of pharmaceutical aid free of charge to victims of industrial accidents who are not hospitalized.

The Committee has been informed that, based on the recommendations of the Standards Review Mechanism Tripartite Working Group (SRM Tripartite Working Group), the Governing Body has decided that Member States for which Convention No. 17 is in force should be encouraged to ratify the more recent Employment Injury Benefits Convention, 1964 [Schedule I amended in 1980] (No. 121), or the Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102), accepting its Part VI (see GB.328/LILS/2/1). Conventions Nos 121 and 102 reflect the more modern approach to employment injury benefits. The Committee therefore encourages the Government to follow up the Governing Body’s decision at its 328th Session (October–November 2016) approving the recommendations of the SRM Tripartite Working Group and to consider ratifying Conventions Nos 121 or 102 (Part VI) as the most up-to-date instruments in this subject area.